Segment posts a decline of over 20% for the second consecutive year of 20% plus decline

Sales in the US Subcompact segment fell by 20.7% to 374,518 in 2018, making it the second year in a row that the segment has lost more than 20% of sales. As a result, total sales are now 43% lower than their 2014 peak. Moreover, with no new entrants on the horizon and with many manufacturers debating on whether to even replace [Read more…]

Kia Rio is the only model to see its sales rise, as segment once again shrinks by almost 20%

Sales in the US Subcompact segment fell by 18.6% to 203,930 in the first half of 2018, with the segment posting almost identical growth in the second quarter as in the first. With only two models posting positive growth and only two new models on the immediate horizon (the already-revealed new Hyundai Accent, and the Kia Soul), it looks likely [Read more…]

Sales of all models fall as segment dips below 100,000 for the first time in over a decade

Sales in the Subcompact segment fell by 18.7% to 99,099 in the first quarter of 2018, declining below the 100,000 level for the first time in over a decade. Given this rate of decline, it is far from clear whether the already-revealed new Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio, or the incoming Kia Soul, will be enough to inject enough new vigor into a segment [Read more…]

Sales of subcompact cars fall fastest from among all mainstream segments

Sales in the US subcompact segment fell by 23.0% to 104,268 in the fourth quarter of 2017, getting dangerously close to 100,000, a level above which sales have been every quarter in the last decade. For 2017 as a whole, the segment shrank by 20.7% to 480,998, the steepest decline from among all mainstream segments. However, there may be [Read more…]

All models in the Subcompact segment lose sales except for Toyota iA (néeScion)

Sales in the subcompact segment in the United States continued falling in the third quarter of 2017, dropping from just under half a million in 2016 to 376,213 in the first three quarters of 2017, which is less than the number of minivans sold over the same period. The decline has been pretty consistent so far this year, with the rate of decline ranging between 15% and 25% over the three quarters, and suggests customers are eschewing this segment in favor of subcompact SUVs. It will be interesting whether the new Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio will be able to turn this around once they hit the market, but given the disappointing performance of the new Honda Fit the signs are not very promising.

Subcompact segment lost more than 20%, and only Toyota-branded cars gained any sales

Sales in the subcompact segment in the United States continued falling in the second quarter of 2017, dropping by 250,395 units for the first half of the year. This represents a fall of 20.8% compared to the first half of 2016, the second fastest rate of decline from among the mainstream segments, behind only the minicar segment. Part of the reason is that a lot of the cars in the segment are either about to be replaced (Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio) or are in the second half of their life-cycle (Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris), but really it’s the gradual migration to crossovers that’s the more likely reason of this trend – the subcompact SUV segment grew by 10.6% percent over the same period, and sold more than 200,000 units in half a year for the first time ever.

While minicars rebounded in Q1 of 2017, the subcompact car segment started the year deep in the red with a loss of 15.7% compared to the first quarter of 2016, for a total of 117,995 sales. The segment top-3 all lost with double digits, as the rise of the subcompact crossover segment undoubtedly plays a role in the struggles of the similarly sized sedans and hatchbacks. Then again, no less than four out of the nine players are due to be renewed this year (Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio), while two others are in the second half of their life-cycle (Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris) as well.

Sales of subcompact cars rebounded slightly in the fourth quarter of 2016, growing by 2 percent relative to Q4’15, allowing the segment to cut the annual fall in sales to 3 percent. This is a very respectable performance for a segment where most cars are older designs, either in the second half of their life-cycle (Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris) or about to be replaced (Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio). And while the segment still only sells less than a third of what the Compact segment manages, 2016 is notable as the first time that the Subcompact segment outsold the Minivan segment over the course of a year.

Sales of subcompact cars rebounded slightly in Q3 of 2016 with an increase of 2%, to cut the year-to-date loss in half to 3%. That’s even despite the fact that a number of models in this segment is due for a redesign within the next 12 months, most notably the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio. Surprisingly, the latter two South-Korean models are actually the among the three fastest growing models of the segment in Q3, together with the Honda Fit.

The Subcompact segment shrank by 6 percent compared to the first half of 2015, a reasonable performance for a mainstream segment – only the Large and Minivan segments did better. What’s more, this was achieved despite many of the cars in the segment getting decidedly long in the tooth (Hyundai Accent, Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris). However, until these models are replaced later this year / early next year, it’s hard to imagine the Subcompact segment doing much better than this, especially in light of the persistently low gas prices.